FleishmanHillard is repping the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, an entity comprised of 17 retailers such as Walmart, Gap, Carter’s, Macy’s, Sears, Target and Nordstrom that source clothing made in Bangladeshi factories.

The Alliance yesterday announced a five-year plan to invest at least $42M to improve safety and $100M-plus in loans and access to capital to factory owners to improve working conditions.

All alliance member factories are to be inspected within a year. A worker hotline will be in operation by November.

The Alliance is working with former Maine Senators George Mitchell and Olympia Snow, who received input in designing its initiative from the Government of Bangladesh, U.S. State Dept., International Labor Organization and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The Alliance’s program follows the horrific Bangladesh garment factory collapse in April that killed more than 1,000 people.

Labor groups have panned the program as offering too little cash, saying an investment of $3B is needed to improve factory worker safety.

Another gripe: the Alliance’s program makes factory owners responsible for improving working conditions, while a competing European plan puts the onus of boosting safety conditions on its members.